0838 Large portion of northwest Netherlands flooded; over 2,400 died 
1170 First All Saints' Flood inundated Netherlands and Zuider Zee region 
1212 Large flood at Noordholland killed 60,000 
1219 St. Marcellus Flood killed 36,000 
1287 Zuider Zee seawall collapsed; 50,000 died 
1299 Count of Holland gained control of Zeeland 
1300-1390 French Dukes of Burgundy united all of the Low Countries 
1301 Holland defeated Lichtenberg at Battle of Breukelen
1345 Frisian defeated Dutch at Warns 
1362 Storm surge kills 25,000; sixty parishes destroyed in Slesvig 
1404 First St. Elizabeth's Flood occurred; towns washed away 
1421 Second St. Elizabeth's Flood; dike broke, villages swept away; many thousands died 
1432 Zeeland became part of Low Countries under Phillip the Good of Burgundy 
1460 Episcopal palace at Atrecht held witch burnings 
1477 Mary of Burgundy, heiress of all Netherlands, married Maximilian I of Habsburg family of Austria 
1489-1490 Plague killed thousands 
1492 German mercenaries killed 232 at Bread and Cheese rebellion 
1500-1599 Protestant Reformation swept across Europe; Dutch Protestants persecuted by Roman Catholics 
1511 Portuguese traders reached Banda Islands 
1516 King Charles I of Spain rules Netherlands 
1517 Protestants burned at the stake 
1519 King Charles I of Spain became Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V 
1520 Public burning of books took place in Louvain 
1521 Emperor Charles V banned wooden buildings in Amsterdam 
1524 Henry Van Zutphen, Dutch Protestant martyr, burned at stake 
1527 Wendelmoet Claesdochter first Dutch woman burned at stake as heretic 
1540 Emperor Charles V beat uprising against taxes in Ghent; nine leaders beheaded, one hanged 
1556 Emperor Charles V gave control of Low Countries to Son, King Philip II of Spain 
1567 Duke of Alba became guardian of Netherlands 
1568 William I, Prince of Orange, led revolt against Spanish government; Duke of Alba declared William of Orange an outlaw; Holy office condemned all inhabitants of Netherlands to death as heretics; Eighty Years' War (Dutch Revolt) began 
1568 King Phillip II of Spain banned foreign Dutch students; tidal wave in North Sea destroyed sea walls, over 1,000 killed 
1572 William of Orange became viceroy of Holland, Friesland, Utrecht; town of Naarden surrendered to Spanish, town burned, all residents massacred 
1574 Storm broke Leiden dike, 20,000 Spanish soldiers drowned 
1576 Netherlands' 17 provinces united in Pacification of Ghent; formed federation to maintain peace; Spanish forces attached Antwerp (the Spanish Fury) 
1579 Treaty of Utrecht signed, beginning of Dutch Republic; Friesland joined Union of Utrecht 
1580 States of Utrecht outlawed Catholic worship 
1581 Dutch declared independence from Spain 
1584 Gregorian (New World) calendar adopted; William of Orange assassinated; succeeded by son, Maurice of Nassau 
1585 Antwerp sacked by Duke of Parma 
1602 Dutch East India Company formed in Jakarta, Indonesia 
1604 Spanish took Ostend (northwest Belgium) from Netherlands 
1620 Pilgrims left Netherlands, landed in Massachusetts 
1624 Dutchman Cornelius Drebbel created world's first submarine 
1630-1654 Dutch conquered Brazil 
1648 Spain recognized Dutch independence 
1652 War broke out between Netherlands and England 
1661 Holland sold Brazil to Portugal 
1665 King Charles II of England declared war on Netherlands; British captured Banda Island of Run from Dutch 
1667 Dutch fleet sailed Thames, threatened London; burned three ships; William of Orange replaced James Stuart; Peace of Breda ended war; Surinam ceded to England by Dutch in exchange for New York 
1672 King Louis XIV of France invaded Netherlands; sluices opened in Holland to save Amsterdam from French 
1677 William of Orange married cousin Mary (daughter of James, Duke of York) 
1688 King Louis XIV of France declared war on Netherlands; King James II of England fled London, abdicated throne; King William (of Orange) and Queen Mary became rulers 
1689 King William III joined League of Augsburg and Netherlands, formed Grand Alliance to counter war of aggression by King Louis XIV 
1690 French defeated Grand Alliance forces at Fleurus in Netherlands 
1692 English and Dutch fleet beat France at Battle of La Hogue; French forces defeated English at Battle of Steenkerke in Netherlands 
1693 At Battle of Neerwinden in Netherlands, French destroyed Grand Alliance army 
1697 Treaty of Ryswick signed; ended war between france and Grand Alliance 
1701 England, Austria, Netherlands formed Alliance against France 
1741 Dutch protested against bad quality of bread 
1745 England, Austria, Saxony, Netherlands formed alliance against Russia; French forces defeated Ango-Dutch army at Fontenoy 
1747 French forces defeated Ango-Dutch at Battle of Lauffeld; French captured Bergen-op-Zoom; England and Netherlands singed military treaty 
1748 Riot broke out in Amsterdam after public execution; over 200 killed 
1780-1783 Netherlands at war with England 
1784 Peace of Versailles ended war between France, England, Holland; Holland banned orange clothes 
1788 Alliance between Britain, Prussia, Netherlands ratified 
1793 France declared war on Britain and Netherlands; French conquered Geertruidenberg, Netherlands 
1801 Napoleon Bonaparte imposed new constitution 
1814 William VI, prince of Orange, became King William I of the Netherlands 
1815 British, German, Dutch, Belgian troops assembled to face Napoleon 
1825 Dike breaks caused severe flooding, more than 800 died 
1830 Belgium rebelled against Netherlands 
1840 King William I of Holland abdicated 
1864 British, French, Dutch fleets attacked Japan in Shimonoseki Straits; Gerard Heineken founded beer Heineken brewery 
1870 Amstel Brewery opened 
1873 Holland American cruise line began operations from Netherlands; colonization efforts began in Aceh province (Indonesia), caused decades-long war 
1890 Grand Duchy of Luxembourg separated from Netherlands; Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. founded 
1894 Disastrous flooding occurred 
1899 First Hague Peace Conference held in Netherlands, 26 nations participated 
1903 Harry Houdini escaped from police station in Amsterdam 
1904 Two men (Weerdinge couple) found in bog, dated from 160BC - 220AD 
1914-1918 World War I; German Zeppelins bombed Antwerp twice; Netherlands maintained neutrality; Kaiser Wilhelm II of German went into exile in Netherlands 
1916 Zuyderzee Flood caused by dike breaks 
1917 Mata Hari (Dutch dancer who spied for Germans) executed by firing squad 
1920 Dutch government refused to hand over dethroned German monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to Allies; League of Nations established International Court of Justice in The Hague 
1922 Dutch women received right to vote 
1928 Olympics opened in Amsterdam 
1932 Dutch textile strike broken by trade unions; Afsluitkijk Dam completed, sealed Zuider Zee from ocean, formed freshwater lake, IJsselmeer. 
1934 Jordanians revolted due to reduction in employment in Amsterdam 
1935 Dutch Revolutionary Socialist Worker's Party formed
1939 Netherlands declared neutrality at outbreak of World War II; Netherlands passenger ship hit German mine, 86 died 
1940 Germany invaded Netherlands; Royal family fled to England; Germans bombed Rotterdam from air, destroyed tens of thousands of buildings; Netherlands surrendered; Germans occupied Netherlands 
1941 Nazi police attacked, driven away from Koco in Amsterdam by young Jews; roundup of Jews in Amsterdam occurred; concentration camp at Amersfoort opened; German Jews in Netherlands declared stateless 
1942 Japan declared war against Netherlands; Japanese forces invaded Dutch East Indies; Nazis executed 72 in Sachsenhausen; Jews transported from Holland to extermination camp 
1943 US ship James Oglethorpe, Netherlands ship Terkolei torpedoed, sank; U S mistakenly bombed Rotterdam, 326 killed; Dutch struck against forced labor in Nazi German's war industry; Jews rioted in Amsterdam against Germans; Willem Kolff invented first dialysis machine 
1944 Nazi troops executed 96 prisoners by firing squad; 99 inhabitants of Tulle were hung; last transport of Dutch Jews, including Anne Frank, left for Auschwitz; 65,000 Dutch Nazi collaborators fled to Germany (Mad Tuesday); British and American troops parachuted into Holland to capture Arnhem Bridge; thousands of British troops killed by Germans at Arnhem Bridge 
1944-1945 Netherlands became site of fighting between Allied forces and Germany; food supply severely disrupted, many Dutch civilians suffered near-starvation 
1945 RAF bombing error hit The Hague, killed 511; Netherlands, Denmark liberated from Nazi control; Allies bombed The Hague; Queen Wilhelmina returned to Netherlands; Nazi occupiers executed; Canadian troops liberated Nazi concentration camp at Westerbork; Netherlands became charter member of United Nations 
1948 International Court of Justice opened at The Hague; Queen Wilhelmina abdicated throne due to health reasons; Queen Juliana crowned 
1949 Netherlands joined NATO 
1952 Netherlands founding member of European Coal and Steel Community 
1953 More than 1,800 killed in flooding 
1968 Greece, Portugal and Spain embassies bombed in The Hague 
1969 John Lennon, Yoko Ono staged bed-in for peace in Amsterdam; nuclear reactor in Dodewaard began use 
1975 Dutch colony of Surinam gained independence; hundreds of thousands of Surinamese emigrated to Netherlands; Rembrandt's "Nightwatch" slashed, damaged in Amsterdam; South Moluccan extremists surrendered after holding 23 hostages for 12 days on train near Beilen 
1977 Moluccan extremists held 105 school children, 50 others, hostage on train in Netherlands; Dutch Social Democratic party won Parliamentary election 
1980 Queen Juliana abdicated throne; Beatrix crowned queen 
1983 Alfred Heineken, Heineken Brewery, kidnapped, held for ransom of over $10 million; freed by police after 20 days 
1991 European community leaders met in Maastricht, agreed to begin using single currency by 1999 
1992 Earthquake struck Netherlands and Germany; Amsterdam apartment complex struck by El Al jet, 43 killed 
1995 Flooding forced evacuation of 200,000 people and millions of animals 
1997 European Union (EU) set common foreign, security policy in Amsterdam Treaty 
1999 Netherlands, 10 other EU nations began using Euro monetary system; Picasso painting slashed by mental patient in Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; student in Heghel shot teacher, four students in first school shooting in Dutch history 
2000 Parliament legalized euthanasia; fireworks depot exploded in Enschede, 20 killed, 489 injured, 400 houses flattened; Bill passed allowing same-sex partners to marry; brothels were legalized 
2002 Euro officially replaced Dutch guilder; prime minister Wim Kok's government resigned; anti-immigration party leader, Pim Fortuyn killed by gunman; Balkenende became prime minister; government collapsed three months later; eight men detained for providing financial aid, logistical services to al Qaeda 
2003 Bird flu found; 18-judge world court inaugurated at The Hague; pharmacies allowed to fill prescriptions for marijuana; flu epidemic broke out; high school student fatally shot teacher 
2004 200,000 demonstrated in Amsterdam, protested public spending cuts, welfare reforms; filmmaker, Theo van Gogh, murdered after receiving death threats about movie "Submission"; Dutch police raided Kurdish training camp in southern Netherlands, 29 arrested 
2005 Dutch voters rejected E U constitution; civil servants went on strike protesting declining benefits, low wages; authorities seized 5 tons of cocaine at Port of Rotterdam; police detained seven suspects in anti-terrorism operation in three cities; police arrested 45 members of Hell's motorcycle gang, seized assortment of weapons; fire at prison complex killed 11 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation; Dutch government agreed to send additional 1,400 troops to join NATO forces in Afghanistan 
2006 Parliament approved sending additional 1,200 troops to Afghanistan; former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic, found dead in prison cell while being tried for war crimes; outbreak of bluetongue disease (transmitted to sheep by insects) discovered; center-right Christian Democrats won most seats in elections; Netherlands became first nation to use completely digital signals 
2007 Jan Peter Balkenende sworn in as head of three-party centrist coalition (three months after elections) 
2010 Mark Rutte becomes Prime Minister of the Netherlands; first liberal prime minister since 1918  
2012 Rutte II cabinet formed after elections  
2013 Queen Beatrix abdicates; Willem-Alexander becomes king  
2014 The Netherlands mourns the MH17 disaster over Ukraine; 196 Dutch citizens killed  
2016 Dutch voters reject EU-Ukraine association agreement in a referendum  
2017 General elections: VVD remains largest party, Forum voor Democratie enters parliament  
2020 First COVID-19 case in the Netherlands; nationwide lockdowns and measures follow  
2021 Riots in several cities over COVID-19 curfew; vaccination campaign begins  
2022 High inflation and energy prices due to the war in Ukraine  
2023 Farmers protest against nitrogen policy, leading to nationwide demonstrations  
2024 The Netherlands celebrates 10 years of King Willem-Alexander’s reign; housing shortage and climate remain major issues  